


Bengal

by yeaka



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ficlet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:53:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21664768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Noctis finds a thing in the woods.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 16
Kudos: 148





	Bengal

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy XV or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

The iron giant lumbers after him, its footsteps heavy enough to shake the earth, but at least it’s blessedly slow—Noctis bolts through the forest, wasting what little stamina he has left on warping past the trees. He’s too far from camp to be sure that his retainers will hear his screams; it’s just as likely more daemons will come. Noctis shouldn’t have snuck out. The breather wasn’t worth it. He’s down to his last potion and nowhere near strong enough to take on the monster behind him. The only thing left to do is _run_.

Noctis darts through the foliage. His heart hammers in his chest. He races forward, sure that he’s lost the giant but unwilling to risk it, and even though he’s long out of breath, he keeps going. His pace slows, but it’s not for lack of trying. Then something slams into him from behind, and Noctis goes careening down to the forest floor with a startled cry. 

For a split second, he’s winded. Then his training kicks in, and he forces himself to roll over and face his attacker, even though he knows he doesn’t have the strength left to fight if off. A coeurl looms over him, two furry paws landing square on his chest. Its whiskers flow through the darkness, the ends sparking with _magic_ , offering just enough light for Noctis to see its fangs. It lowers its muzzle down to him and noses at his throat. 

A long, pink tongue flicks out to lick him. Noctis grunts, head rolling aside. The coeurl noses further down, prodding at his jacket, then finds his pocket and paws at it—he can feel his phone about to pop out. With a feral roar, Noctis summons everything that he has left and pulls a sword from his armiger. 

Instantly, the coeurl reels back. Before Noctis can slice its face, it shrinks, tail sucking in, whispers disappearing—Noctis watches in wide-eyed wonderment as its spots melt into human flesh. 

A young man about his age sits beside him, lifting two perfectly normal hands and hurriedly waving them. There’s a black barcode under one wrist that Noctis glances at before he’s fixated on the man’s lightly freckled face. Blond, blue-eyed, and _cute_ , the man splutters, “Whoa, whoa, don’t kill me! I just wanted to see if you had King’s Knight downloaded!”

Noctis blinks. Slowly, he raises his arm. When he lets the sword dissipate, the blond visibly relaxes. Noctis’ heart is still going a mile a minute—he thinks he might’ve hit his head, and now he’s just dreaming. 

The blond sheepishly explains, “Sorry I startled you, dude—I just really need a partner on my next quest. I’m totally out leveled to go any further myself.”

Noctis _stares_ at the adorable blond. He has so many questions. But all he manages is a numb, “Since when do daemons have phones?”

The blond’s brows knit together, and he retorts, “One, I’m a Prompto, not a daemon. Two, I found it a few nights ago and it had this one game I’ve been _totally_ hooked on ever since. It’s way addicting! But I keep losing at it, and I think I really need a bud. Please help me?” He bats his blond lashes adorably. Noctis is still _so_ lost.

He’s positive the ‘Prompto’ was a coeurl just two minutes ago. But now it’s a human. A man in regular human clothes—skinny jeans and a sleeveless black top. And he looks totally harmless. Endearing, even. Noctis half feels like he’s been infected by some weird status ailment, because he can’t get over how _hot_ the guy is, and that probably shouldn’t be his first concern. Maybe it’s just his own hormones acting up. He finds himself muttering, “I... I guess I could give you my friend code...” Prompto smiles broadly, like Noctis has just made his night. Or his whole life. He hurriedly fishes another phone out of his pocket and passes it over—Noctis accepts it, turns it on, and blinks. 

The wallpaper is Gladiolus’ abs. Just the abs. At least, he assumes it’s Gladiolus. There’s no face in the picture. It’s possible someone else has the same giant eagle tattoo. Noctis simultaneously realizes and mutters, “This is the one Iggy lost...”

Prompto visibly wilts. “Aw, man, it belongs to somebody? Does that mean I have to give it back?”

When Noctis looks at Prompto’s gorgeous face, he really wants to say _no_ : Prompto can have whatever he likes. But Ignis is also important to Noctis, and he knows Ignis must be missing his phone and apparently all the shirtless Gladio pics he has. Noctis tries to at least soften the blow. “Well, maybe if you return it, he’ll give you a reward...?”

Prompto instantly perks up again. If he still had the cat-like ears of his coeurl form, they’d probably be lifting straight up. “What kind of reward?”

Noctis shrugs. “I dunno. Maybe dinner?”

“ _Dinner_? Hot damn!” He drops his hands back to Noctis’ stomach, leaning over him again, and asks, “Can I go back with you?”

Noctis can only nod. Prompto grins like Noctis is the best thing that ever happened to him.

Then Prompto’s scrambling up to his feet. He reaches down and offers his hand, which Noctis takes, because any contact with Prompto is good contact. Prompto helps him up but doesn’t let go of his arm. 

Prompto chirps, “Lead the way, best buddy!”

So Noctis swallows and does.


End file.
